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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Semi-Charmed Winter 2014 Book Challenge

It's time for the next installment of the Semi-Charmed Book Challenge series! Because we had so many people finish the summer challenge this year (y'all are awesome!), this challenge will be known as the "Reader's Choice Challenge" (because all the categories came from your fabulous brains and not mine!). Thanks to everyone who suggested a category. :) And now for the rules and categories....General rules:

The challenge will run from November 1, 2014, to February 28, 2015. No books that are started before 12 a.m. on November 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on February 28 will count.

Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audiobooks are fine, as long as the print versions meet the page requirements. Large-print books are also acceptable, as long as the regular-print version exceeds 200 pages in length.

A book can only be used for one category, and each category can only be completed once. If you want to switch the category of a book during a later check-in, that's fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.

Rereads can be used for a maximum of three books in the challenge. This rule is meant to encourage you to try new books while still allowing you to revisit books from your childhood or young adulthood that you might get more out of now. Please reread the entire book within the timeframe of the challenge in order to count it; no simply finishing old books or partial rereads (unless the category explicitly states otherwise, of course)!

The highest possible total is 200 points, and the first five people who finish the challenge will be invited to contribute a category for the next challenge. Good luck!

Which brings us to the exciting part—the challenge categories!

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules.10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. — Submitted by Megan.10 points: Read a book of short stories. — Submitted by Meredith.10 points: Read a book with a food (not a drink!) in the title. — Submitted by Megan.15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you (so no rereads for this one!). — Submitted by Crystal.
15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language. — Submitted by Belle.15 points: Read a book written by a local author (either an author from your state if you live in the United States, or in your country if you live somewhere else—note: author must be from where you currently live). — Submitted by Katelyn.20 points: Read a "bookish book" (in which books play an important role, e.g. the setting involves a bookstore or library, a major character is an author, or a book that celebrates reading and books. Examples: The Book Thief, The Shadow of the Wind, The Thirteenth Tale, etc.) — Submitted by Jen.20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title (e.g. north, south, east, west or any combination of those). — Submitted by Donna25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. — Submitted by Jenn.25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. Be sure to tell us the song name and artist as well! — Submitted by Daire, who was kind enough to provide several example books, as this challenge is quite tricky! A few possibilities include: Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson (English nursery rhyme of the same name), The Girl You Left Behindby Jojo Moyes ("Girl You Left Behind," Pixie Lott), or Somewhere Only We Know by Cheyanne Young ("Somewhere Only We Know," Keane).30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title (e.g. breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, brunch; update: meals like feast, banquet, picnic will also count, but try not to get too "creative" with your meal words!). — Submitted by Amber.

How to keep track: I’ll publish a check-in post on the first day of each month, beginning December 1, on which you can comment with your progress. I will also include the scoreboard from the previous month on each check-in post. I will also host a link-up on Wednesday, October 22, if anyone wants to share their preliminary reading list for the challenge (see an example list here).A preliminary post is not mandatory to join the challenge, but it is a good way to see what other people are planning to read and get some ideas for categories you might be stuck on. Please feel free to share the below button and/or the hashtag #SCWBC14 on your blog, Twitter, Instagram, etc., to get the word out! Be sure to mention me so I can see how you're doing (@semicharmedkol on Twitter or @mcstroup on Instagram).

Please let me know if you have any questions, and have fun picking out your challenge books! See you next week for the preliminary link-up. :)

The Fine Print: All images and text are copyright Megan Stroup, unless otherwise noted. I have done my best to provide credits for all photos and text that are not original. If I have used one of your images and you wish for me to remove it, please let me know and I will do so immediately.